This invention relates to apparatus for the chemical treatment of articles, especially--but not exclusively--for the tanning and degreasing of skins and hides.
It is known to have washing machines and drycleaning machines which contain a rotatable drum in a housing. The housing has an opening opposite the open end of the drum and a door for closing the opening when the machine is in use. These machines are well suited for treating textiles, such as garments, but it has been found that they are not suitable for other applications, for example in the treating of hides and skins. These are two main reasons for this. One is that the door of the housing and the opening of the drum itself are kept as small as possible in the existing machines to prevent the escape of the textiles; in the case of bulky and relatively stiff hides and skins this is, of course, a hindrance. The other problem is that in the known machines it is difficult to admit gaseous treating media into the drum interior, which is a frequent requirement in other applications, e.g. in the treating of hides.